Extraordinary Ordinary, Part 2

Today on Senate life with Jeannie Greer you want to know the help of your faith, what you doing here we go on a mission trip. Your relationship with your spouse how you respond. Your parents how you relate to your dorm mates or your suite mates.

That's where the help of your faith is tested also as you want to get an accurate reading your faith. Don't look at me versus you know what you are going to church. You look at how you are in the home and the coach of a sports team whether it's T-ball or the big leagues, one in your main job is making sure everyone on the team understand their position knows their role. If the players don't know what they're supposed to be doing and he will do it well that's something I've experienced firsthand today. Pastor Jeannie Greer digs into the book of Titus to help us understand our position as believers part of our series called everyday theology. If you've missed any of the previous messages you can find them online.

Jeannie Greer.com.

Now here's Pastor JD with a message titled extraordinary ordinary Christians find others in the place of his placement.

They find their fulfillment and faithfulness, not accomplishments, not in self-actualization and that often if not always a ball sacrifice model. In this Jesus found the film and washing feet because that was what the father told him to do.

Jesus fulfillment never came from the importance of the task because washing feet is not that important.

Jesus found a proof is a fulfillment in the approval of of the father. So if for a time in your life.

God has assigned you to care for children and establish a home find your fulfillment in knowing you have been a faithful servant, not an appraisal world or how high you climb some water or you might say this way. Jesus found fulfillment and washing feet. You can find fulfillment in wiping box for a season to put it down on the bottom shelf because our fulfillment at whatever stage we are is only in hearing well done good and faithful servant, not what he says this of the young women. It applies to dance to their are a lot of things that I can't do because of some role God has assigned to me by Peter Craig, one of my favorite authors was once asked what's your favorite book that you have ever written. Christ responded the one I didn't write when my kids were young. Now I am able to write a good bit, but Veronica and I are very clear that that only gets fitted into the margins of my calling as father and pastor and there are a lot of things that would be good for my career that we just don't do right now because of some role that God has given me to serve: a lot of guys trips I don't go golfing every Saturday why because I get one season with my children, you say well, dad and I do all this things you might be a bad release. You should ask your wife that I found myself comparing in great detail to somebody. The plot qualities between frozen entangled arguing for the superiority of the plot line entangled over frozen and I had the realization that my entertainment died is not what it used to be.

See, that is okay because one day I want to hear.

By God's grace well done good and faithful servant. And so it's okay for a season.

I'm not fulfilled about movie choices because faithfulness is my goal. One down to get to heaven and everything off like I've accomplished, just turn it off my big is your church click nobody cares about that anymore. So how many books did you right-click the people you work click how much money did you make click in the only lever he's believe on his faithfulness to him when you get to have been the only accomplishment you take and there is nothing to do with the importance of the task.

It has only to do with whether or not you were faithful in that task because moreover, Paul said what is required of stewards prescriptive for two is only that they be found faithful.

As if that phrase is not controversial enough pulses in a little nugget mother nugget for for us urge the younger women to be subject to their husbands is that me marriage is a dance in which both partners listen to this reenact a part of the gospel. They both look at the gospel offers forwards and backwards, and they reenact a part of it member my analogy about positions they reenact part of the positions of the gospel. The husband does it by loving his wife like Christ loved the church, which means putting her want to her needs ahead of his own to the point that he would lay down his life for her, and by the way, if you would lay down his life for her, that certainly includes laying down his preferences about where they go to eat when they go to vacation with all the drapes are she reenact the gospel by submitting her will to her husband's. It has nothing to do with superiority.

It has to do with positions. We play that reenact the Trinity in the gospel and when you do that, it's beautiful. Why because the character of God is beautiful LOL Matt Chandler says that he said the husband sacrificially loving his wife, a wife submitted to her godly husband creates a relationship of the world would never look at and say all disgusting and archaic.

A lot of people who say they are turned off by the Christian teaching on headship within marriage are attracted by the Christian marriages they see. You see, my spiritual leadership in our home is not about me dominating my wife if I give anything about love my wife like Christ loves the church I will voluntarily lose 9/10 arguments about preference what it means for her in response to the gospel is to yield to me a decision-making responsibility to God is put on me.

How about Kathy Keller who is the life of Tim Keller who I quote here from time to time.

Kathy Keller explained it this way. She says this means in matters of disagreement. I yield to Tim the deciding vote. She says I get a vote.

He gets about, I yield to him. The deciding vote and she uses the example of when he was a pastor in Hopewell, Virginia, and they were entertaining the idea planning the church in Manhattan which would become Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

She said Tim felt like we should do it. So we greeted by default we shouldn't we pray about it for a month at the end of that month. He felt like we should. I felt like we should, if it's a funny one night over dinner Tim to put up his hands, that fine if you don't want to do it were not going to do it and she said I said back to him. Oh no you don't you're not putting this on me. I cast my vote. You cast your vote. God give you the deciding those missing sets on your head and if you make a wrong decision got a hold me accountable for his hold you accountable for and they went to New York City and Atlanta. The torso became Redeemer you see the man laying down his life.

The woman submitting her will to her husband's will. These are ways that we put the gospel on display. We demonstrate the gospel and it is beautiful.

It has nothing to do with superiority yesterday with positions for sex likewise likewise means the general spirit of what Paul to set up young women he apply to the next group which are young men urge the younger man to be self-controlled now. Interestingly, this is the only word of exultation is given. Specifically, the young man be self-controlled ladies, young women got like seven things that you notice that the gasket one. Why, because if you had to boil down the Achilles' heel of most young men is that they are ruled by their desires, they respond to their desire for pleasure. They are controlled by their desires for recognition guys. I'm telling you if you got this.

If you could simply learn to control your passions and desires and lies.

You could be somebody that God could transform the world through DL Moody used to say like if the world has yet to see what God can do with one man who was so fully yielded to him that his desires did not control him. Only the will of God controlled him.

By contrast, the book of Proverbs says Robert.

25. 28 a man without self-control is like a city whose walls have been broken through. Think of the imagery there in the old days all wall kept out wild animals.

It Dowel bands of marauding soldiers and kept out robbers and of the walls were bare than Robert Welch anytime they want takes whatever they want is is you are like that city that anytime your enemy. Once he does knocks on the door because you know you have never learned to say no to what your body wants and it becomes a way that your enemy absolutely destroys you. JC Ryle says being ruled by the desires of your body will murder your soul will even get secular attestation. To this principle I told you this before but here's about 30 years ago there was something that was called the Stamford marshmallow test you notice if you are on this reform in two years you don't remember it is assayed every two years and so this is one for the next two years. Okay for about 30 years ago this group, a psychologist that got together for five euros and they put them in a room one by one with a psychologist who all he did was headed the marshmallow and he told them you can eat this marshmallow now and you won't be in trouble. However, if you can wait to eat the marshmallow for an unspecified amount of time.

Then when I come back to getting the marshmallow out to be two more marginal. So instead of having one. You will have three and so the middle of the room and they kept him on, so they watch these five-year-olds and they divided them into two groups. One was they call the marshmallow grabbers because these guys and girls immediately when the psychologist left the room and pick Marshall up and thought about the need to be done with it is about a man's worth two in the bush right just about and so marshmallow grabbers. Then there were what they call the marshmallow waiters which waited on the marshmallow.

The psychologist that was most interesting, isn't watching the kids develop coping mechanisms to deal with the temptation. The marshmallows is it that some of them a pic of the marsh moment with the likable come bouncing off the wall.

Some of them would just walk around the table and stare at the marshmallow visit one kid actually got down and licked the wood beside the marshmallow as if the flavor had transmogrified into the wood.

They said the most fascinating thing was we track these kids for 20 years after this, and we have never seen one characteristic that so dramatically determined the success of somebody in life as this one characteristic of whether or not you could wait, they said. The kids that were the marshmallow waiters were not only more self-controlled, they were more emotionally adjusted. They had better relationships and get this, they scored an average of 210 points higher on the SAT this one factor.

They said determines the success of a human being if it's true in the secular world. You understand that with God. If you learn to say no to your desires.

That becomes the secret of your success and how do you do that, Paul says you do that, he says, verse 11, by the grace of God. That's what teaches you to say no to ungodliness and worldly lies guys when you had the impulse to desire. When you start to fantasize about a girl's body.

What Paul says is what you think about Jesus body was beaten, sliced open for you.

When you think about her naked body want you and replace that image with another image that is the image of Jesus naked body hang on across with 2 inch nails in his head so that he could deliver you from worldly lust and as you behold the grace of God and as you say yes to the grace of God, you learn to say no to the desires of your body. Verse nine bond servants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything they are to be well pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering over me just take more than your due, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior is now talking to the working class you that are in the workforce.

He says your work should put your hope and love for God on display now told you before when it comes to be Christian work people have all these crazy idea what you mean be Christian work in the building.

I am told me to open up coffeehouse called Jehovah Java or Hebrews you know are one of my favorites St. are box like in a Starbucks right that's that's what it means to be Christian in business you want to do that. That's fine but but it's probably not find. But even if you do that.

Paul says none of the way that you worship God were tested with four attitudes that appear in your work. This what it means to be Christian work, use different words and he did but I'm the same things.

A.

Integrity. You don't pilfer you.

I'm exceedingly get away with it because God sees even when nobody else does work for different master than everybody else. Not your boss not your customer, you were for God.

B.

Excellence is doing the minimum required to get by your trying to bless your employer you're trying to bless the people you work for your trying to bless God that's Odysseus Lewis had a great thing in your Christianity. We talked about discoverers is as a Discover new climates would come into a valley that no human I'd ever seen before. There, there's valley.

They would find the most beautiful flowers never beheld a humanized that it existed for thousands of years and nobody ever seen it was all about beauty wasted no human I resold that beauty who said no, of course, it wasn't wasted because God saw God creates beauty first and foremost for himself and even when nobody else easily sees it, and then Lewis. As you apply that your work, your fork is first and foremost done is beautiful for God even when nobody else sees it, even when you get away with it because it's an offering to God is a question for you that are in the workforce are you doing the minimum required to get by. Are you trying to bless your employers and those you work for and glorify God C servant hood servant hood you people who understand faith in the workplace. Either work as an act of service for other people all throughout this letter Paul is going talk about about good works and and and and and working for the common good Christians understand that when they work they are performing a God-given function to bless other people she God created the world in a raw material state and he put men and women here as co-creators. We are to take the raw materials of the earth and develop them for the blessing of humans and the glory of God.

So when an artist takes raw materials of color and paints. He is taking all materials and doing things a blessed same thing for the architect of the teacher blogger taken raw materials and blessing humans is as you will see your work as an act of service and you will use it to do good D hope for a believer there work is not defined them, which leads them not to take themselves too seriously or cheat to get ahead of themselves or their families. Why because the work is not their identity now absent a view of God.

It always becomes your identity done in our society is the second question you ask what your name what you do if you don't do something that important. You figure out a way to phrase it so it sounds important because your personal worth is tied to your job losses is evidently true for a Christian.

Their worth is not tied their identity is not tied to what they do. It's time to who they belong to and because they are a servant of God.

When you do those four things you will verse 10 adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. You know how to be a good witness to people in the workplace. That's it. I saw Lis the other day of quote weighs 100 ways to share your faith in the workplace.

Some of them were okay but on this list will things like number 61 put up a sign that says ask us about our exchange policy. When customers ask tell them about your exchange policy. But then ask if they would like to hear about the greatest exchange policy on the plan Jesus righteousness for your sin number 60 when a customer is paid his bill in full. Send an invoice and says paid in full. These are the same word the blood of Jesus broke across about your sin number 74 on your business card after your name list your credentials as AFC Christ. Okay, if you want to do that five okay do not come up or have a business card ever busy okay if I really us, but that's not the main way that you adorn the doctrine of God our Savior the way you adorn it.

He says about working with integrity. Excellent sermon hood. No. If you work that way you're not have any problem having opportunities to tell people about Jesus.

It's good to be so unusual people there to come and ask you which leads me to three concluding observations about this passage number one.

These behaviors are our best witness. These behaviors are best witness. These values are so completely countercultural that people will notice Tim Chesser says people may not like it when we talk about self-control and submission but they find it attractive when we live in unbelievers who are repelled by the Christian message on headship within marriage are attracted to the by the Christian marriages they see unbelievers to bind Christian morality restrictive are attracted by the good and virtuous lives of the Christians that they know when the last time somebody came and asked you tell me what is behind what is this whole body are you so different in your marriage in your work. Learn to see your marriage in your work as a theater for the gospel. Learn to see it as as the Primary Pl., God was to bring glory to himself and to demonstrate what the gospel looks like your marriage and in your work, your other relationships number two the best testimony of the gospel happens in the Monday the best testimony the gospel happens of the money.

Did you notice on normally relations ships are donor stories and a list of missionaries you know dying as martyrs in Afghanistan. The stories are important, but when Paul wants to talk about where Christianity best shows itself the ghost of the home. Your Christianity is best measured by your relationships at home, at work and in your private life. If you want to know the health of your faith. Don't look at what you doing here Illinois doing a mission trip with your relationship with your spouse. Look at how you respond your parents. Look at how you relate to your dorm room mates are your suite mates. That's where the help of your faith is tested like when you take a temperature. It's my temperature.

There's only three or four places in the body we can get an accurate read by the mouth before heading someplace of the ear of all places. I will mention Friday's ways you cannot do it somewhere else. You not to get out her Reed's mama mama try to figure out how Savior was going to the room you nothing but not that you wrote back and forth because you are raising the temperature is not an accurate read. Paul says you want to get an accurate reading your faith.

Don't look at me versus you know what you act like a church you look at how you are in the home. How would we evaluate your faith. If we measured its temperature by your relationships at home.

It is the mark of a hypocrite to be a Christian.

Everywhere but home is here that by the way, is a negative rebuke. See these ordinary things as the aiders as labs for God's extraordinary power. God took David to the pasture to teach them the skills to fight Goliath right what God does is he puts you in a pastor like your home. The home is your pastor. That's where God works miracles and you may be right on this way for the believer. Miraculous power comes through Monday and faithfulness to Rohit Christianity is never more than the mission field. Rohit Christianity is born in the home is born in the dorm room. It shows itself on the mission field, but it starts in the lab of normal relationships number three and finally, these behaviors flow directly out of the gospel. These behaviors flow directly out of the gospel shall end on this is that you should not look at these things. Please as another to do list got not always versus now I gotta figure out how to implement in my life poses no these things come from looking upward and forward and backward in the gospel when you do that, they'll just begin to grow. When you attribute diagnosis that was having a problem for you. Look uses illustration with EIAs roadway. I told you that there are two ways you can get roses on a bush is not a rosebush or it's a dead bush and you know you can go out and you could buy a few dozen roses and clip them and duct tape them to the Bush people driving by your house would think that it's a rosebush but you got to do it every week because those roses would fade in the backseat every weekend about several dozen flowers never do it again. The other ways you plan to help you rosebush you water in you mixer gets on and then roses will come up on the wrong I told you that many of you try to change your lives by the first method that they try to fix your marriage and try to 80 every week you command and you get another dozen roses for me. You go home and try to stable them to your bush of your life pauses yet is a better way to present your real way because that's artificial boy that she was looking upward and forward and backwards and suck yourself in the grace of God the grace of God teaches us to the nine dollars will, along with several righteously gobbling his resume because our sizes are fixed on the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior that we are so grateful for what he gave.

We are so excited about is making is where someone, all of whom he is that these relationships begin to blossom in all these habits you blossom in all of our relationships. The gospel is the center everything in the Christian life, not just the diving board into the pool of Christianity if the whole thing. That's why the gospel is the centerpiece of every message you hear from pastor JD Greer on Summit life. No pastor JD.

Many people have a desire to know God, but they have no clue where to begin, please. Yeah, I found that a lot of the pastor specially before noon to the church. There is, likening what you mean no God like that. It is a person on the know God. I think it's a deep desire of every person that you know me, the book of Ecclesiastes as we have a yearning and sometimes we don't even know it's called no we won't yearning for but were yearning for the embrace of our heavenly father were yearning to be reunited with our creator for the question people have is what he what you start with that. You just put the Bible down start reading it cover to cover and and just ask random people that look like they know God when people of questions like these hundreds of others and so we created a resource called start its foundations of the Christian faith we've used here at the church.

It's a fun interactive experience. Knowing God that really can help show you now with the basics are, but how to launch out from the basics to a lifelong journey of going deeper and deeper into the well of God's majesty and his love well that what you get in you feel like like there's no way to ever get to the bottom. And that's a good thing. I did get a JD grid.com. It'll take about this resource show you how you partner with us and show you how we can get one of these to you. I would love to have your partnership here at Summit life.

It really does give us the ability to impact get this ministry to people that are in great need of hearing clear gospel truth so we can save the lives then Christians were well can get to me. Do we start at the beginning of the Bible and then put it down again when we had that book with all the weird laws or do we go to church and if so when supposed to do their because of questions like these and hundreds of others. Many people are left with a desire to know God. They have no idea where to start. Let me suggest you begin by requesting your copy of start foundations of the Christian faith. Donate today to support this ministry suggested level of $25, 866-3358 665-5224 requesting that by donating online JD Greer.com. If you need to send in life and you'd like to get to know her email and describe right now.

JD clear.I'm only minutes.

Thanks for doing the gospel to get the part about my great graciousness Friday on defendant life